Manufacture of blocks



Feb. 28, 1928.-

C. PAYNE MANUFACTURE OF BIJOCKS b bEw N Feb. 28, 1928.

1,661,007 C. PAYNE MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS Filed Auz. 14, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1:3 3 kr w Feb. 28, 1928.

C. PAYNE MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fil ed Aug. 14, 1922 Feb. 28, 1928.

C. PAYNE MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS Filed Ann. 14, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 28, 1928.

- UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFI CALEB PAY NE, OF CHICAGO,'ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T GYPSUM ENGINEERING AND MANUFAGTURINGCO A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS.

Application filed August 14, 1922. Serial No. 581,660.

produce an improved process by which the abuse of the blocks heretofore incident to 'ithdrawing the cores is eliminated; by which a denser, heavier mixture can be used; by which perfect formation of the blocks is assured; by which a balanced block of uniform cross-sectionis produced; bywhich the cores are maintained 111 a clean, lL1l)Il-.

cated condition and adhesionof themi'xture thereto is prevented and by which the use of cores having uniform cross-section is made possible.

A. further object of the invention is to produce a simple andefiicient machine for making blocks according to the new process, and in wh1ch a plurality oi molds are moved 0 in-a circuit and the operations of forming and discharging the blocks are performed at regular points in the'cirouit.

A further. object of the invention is to provide a mold in which the cores are inserted andwithdrawn through a lubricating and cleaning medium.

Furtherobjects of the invention will be-h come apparent as the disclosure proceeds, and the description is read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing showing a.

selected embodiment of the invention in which i Fig. 1 is aplan view of the machine,

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1; r Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one form of block;

Fig. 5 is a perspective viewof one ar ranrzement of cores and partitions;

Fig. 6 is a, section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2, and, l it Figs. 7. 8, 9 and 10 are sections taken on the line7-7 of Fig. 6, certain mechanism for withdrawing cores from the molds being shown in a plurality of positions.

The drawings are somewhat diagrammatic and a great deal of detail has been omitted in order to eliminate confusionand plastic condition and will lapse of time.

18(Fig. a

make the illustration clearly depict the cardinal features of the invention.

The machine illustrated is particularly designed for the manufacture of blocks from gypsum and will he described accordingly, but it will be understood that the use of the term gypsum is for convenience in (le script-ion and is not intended to limit either the process or the machine to use with that material, for the principles of the invention readily lcn'd themselves to the manufacture of blocks from a great variety of materials, which can hemolded while in a fluid or harden with the Referring to thedrawings, the reference numerals 10 and 11 (Fig. 2) indicate rails of a circuitous track. Ordinarily it will be convenient to make this circuit circular, but

under some comlitions,other forms will be u more suitable. The rails 10 and 11 receive wheels 12 and 13, whiclrsupport side frames 14 and 15, which in turncarry a superstructure consisting of concentric channels 16 and 17 secured in spaced relation bythe spacers Each spaccris in the form of a rectangular frame open at its top-and bottoi'n equipped at its inner end with the back-1S) o fa mold and in the present emhodiment the several backs are. rigidly securedto the spacers and held permanently in an upright position by means of bolts20 passing through flanges 21 and clamping them to, spacers. Upright rods 22 are mounted in the inner ends of each spacer and the inner channel 17 and side pieces 23 of the molds are lunged thereon. Theouter end of each spacer is equipped with a hinge 24: on'which is mounted front 25 of the mold.

A gear 26 is suitably mounted on and dis posed concentrically with the frame composed of the-channels and spacers and is driven by a pinion 27 receiving power from a motor 28 through reduction gearing 29. This will cause the molds to move in the circuit. The pinion 27 is provided with a blank or mutilated section 30 which will. permit the molds to come to restand remain-stationary for a suitable period and then automatically move along the a circuit again. In other words, the travel ofthe molds will be inter- ..mittent or step bystep with pauses of suitable length! between the movements.

ion

Each mold is open at its top and closed by a bottom member 31 supported upon the top of the rectangular spacer 18 to which it is secured in anyf, suitable manner l n the present illustrationthe nioldbottoms are made hollow and tilled with absorbent ma terial 31 which is supplied with oil from a tank 32 through pi $65 or the like 33 equipped with valves The tank 32 is supported on a frame 35, which is made principally of braces secured to the backs 19 of the molds. Figure of the drawings shows the mold bottom 31 in the form of a rectangular box, and the oil inlet thereof is shown at 31.

Any suitable number of cores may be used and partitions may be inserted in the molds to divide them into any suitable number of sections. In the machine illustrated I use three partitions and twcntycores which onable me to make four blocks in one mold and provides five passages in each block. The cores and partitions are carried by suitable heads 36 which reciprocate between the positions shown at the left and at the right in Fig. 2. The cores 37 are preferably of uniform cross-section and made of metal, and

the partitions 38 are preferably of rigid sheet metal. The mold bottoms 31 with their oil soaked absorbent material 31 form stufting boxes through which the cores and partitions are inserted into and withdrawn from the molds and they are thereby kept lubricated. v

According to the preferred procedure, the gypsum or other material in a fluid state is charged into the molds at asuitable point in the circuit, the cores and partitions are inserted and remain until the material is no longer fiuid, when they are withdrawn, the mold opened and the block discharged. Preferably the cores are withdrawn from the charge shortly after it ceases to be fluid but the exact time will depend upon'particular conditions. It is important that the withdrawal take place before the gypsiun adheres to the cores, which occurs as the block becomes set, or as the material changes from a plastic condition to a firm condition.

The machine is adapted to automatically insert cores at one point in the circuit, withdraw them at another point, open the molds at another point and discharge the blocks Preferably these actions accomplish this I provide a shaft equipped with pinions 46 and 47 engaging with the respective racks 43 and 44- on opposite sides thereof, A pinion 49 on shaft 45 meshes with a gear 50 on a jack shaft 51 supported in a suitable frame 52 and equipped with bevel gears 58 and 54 loosely mounted thereon. These gears mesh with a bevel gear 55 011 a shaft 56 (Fig. 1) which is driven by a motor 57 through suitable reduction gearing 58. The clutch 59 on the shaft 51 may be thrown by lever 60 to engage either of the gears 53 or 54 with the shaft 51 or to occupy a neutral position in which both gears are permitted to idle on the shaft.

By providing means for throwing this clutch at the proper time and by locating the shaft 45 and racks 43 and 44 in the proper relation to the circuit the cores will all be I inserted at a predetermined point and will all be withdrawn at another predetermined point. This can be accomplished in a great variety of'ways and I have shown a simple cam and lever arrangement to illustrate how it can be worked out. The bell-crank lever 61 is pivoted at 62 and has one arm 63 connected by a link 64 with the lever 60. Another arm 65 of this bell-crank lever lies in the path of strikers 66 and 67.

Bell-crank 61 being in neutral position with respect to the clutch 59, just as the molds come to a pause a cam surface 68 (see Fig. 6) of the cam 66, carried by the side frame 15 throws the lever 63 to the left so as to engage the clutch 59 and causes the rack 43 to ascend and the rack 44 to descend while the molds are stationary.

As shown in 7 and 8 the rack 44 travels downwardly until the striker 67 engages the arm 65 of a bell-crank lever 61 and restores the clutch to neutral position. .Vhen the machine is moved sufliciently to disengage the jaws 40 of these molds from the plates 41'and 42, another cam surface 6ST (see Fig. 6) of the cam 68 will shift the lever 63 to the right and engage the clutch 59 so as to raise the i'aek44; and lower rack 43 to positions wherein the plates 41 and 42 may be received by jaws 40 of the next molds that come to inserting and withdrawing positions. (Fig. 9.) The upward movement of the rack 44 is limited by the striker 66 which engages the lever arm 65 and restores the. clutch to neutral position, as shown in Fig. 10. As the machine comes to rest at the next pause the cam surface 68 of the cam 68 will again move the lever 61 to engage the clutch 59 with the proper gear to cause the cores to be inserted in'one mold and withdrawn from another.-

ach set of cores, in its lowered position, is supported upon the rails on which they travel. from the station where the cores are withdrawn to the station where the cores are inserted into the mold.

iii)

The cores are inserted during the -pause immediately following that in which a charge is put into the molds as indicated at the top of Fig. 1 and the cores are withdrawn at some suitable point thereafter, de-

pendingupon the particular material that is being used. At a suitabletime afterthe cores are withdrawn the molds are opened andthe blocks are discharged.

The sides 23 of the molds are provided with arms 70 whichen'gage the'cam 71 that serves to open the sides against the resistance of springs 72" (Fig. 3) and remove the flanges 74 thereof from the edges ofthefront 25. Each front is equipped with a countera weighted arm 75 that holds it normally in closed upright position. vHowever, by tilting the block the counterweight can be raised and the front with'block lowered onto a table or belt, such as illustrated by 77 in Fig. 3. Preferably a shockabsorber 78 is arranged to receive the front 25 andalso to permit it tode'scend tothe point illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 3 without dangerous shock. As soon as the block leaves the front 25 the counterweighted arm will move it back into normal position; and, when the arms pass beyond the end'cam 71, the sides 23 close on the front and the mold is ready forthe nextcharge.

The blocks may .be discharged the A foot 80 shaped to fit any one of thecore means illustrated particularly in Fi g. 3.

openings is carriedby 'a resiliently mounted shank 81 whlch moves in a socket 82 carr ed by a reciprocating rod 83fthatmoves in the guides 8 1 on the inclined frame 85. Anarni 86 onshank 81 engages the cam 87 on the back of each mold which raises the foot and allowsit to descend at the proper-time to enter one of the core openings. The rod 83 is equipped with rack 88 that engages amulilated pinion 89-on the shaft 90, which is driven by shaft 91 through bevel gears 92. Shaft 91 is equipped with gear 93 1'1e'shing with gear 26. The arrangement is such that as the machine approaches the position where block is to be discharged the mutilated pinion 89 engages-the rack 88 and tilts the block so thatit descends to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3 and at the proper time to slide on to the belt 77. The inclined position of the bar 83 causes the foot 80 to automatically free itself when the block has been tilted sufficiently to cause it to descend against the resistance of" the counterweighted arm 7 5, At about this point the mutilated portion of the pinion 89 comes opposite to the rack 88and the. spring 94returns the rack to normal position. i i

In order to make the block pivot about the axis of the front portion of the mold and to; prevent it from sliding inwardly along bottom oftheinold the inside face "closed position.

In the normal operation of the machine the motor 28 is started and the molds travel by intermittent movement that permits proper pauses during which the cores are inserted and withdrawn and the blocks are discharged from the mold. WVhen a mold approaches the charging position indicated at the upper left hand side of Fig. 1 a suitable quantity of the block mixture is introduced through the open top of the mold by any preferred means. At the next pause the cores 37and partitions 38 are inserted into the mold and through the mixture. Any excess of block material is then struck off preferably into the following mold which at that time is in charging position. The charged moldwith its cores in'place'then travels through the intermittent steps until the block material is no longer fluid which brings it to a position indicated at the lower right hand portion of Fig. 1 where the cores are withdrawn, In the preferred form of the machine the inserting of one set of cores and the withdrawal of another set of cores takes place simultaneously, and inimediatcly after this actionthe machine is in. the condition illustrated inthe somewhat distorted drawing shown in Fig. 2. After the cores are withdrawn the mold with its formed block travels on in the circuit until the block material has set suflicientlyto permitthe block t0 be handled without danger. It then that the arms 70 on the sidemcmbers of the mold comein contact with the cam 71 causingithe sides tobe opened; and as the moldapproaches .the table or belt 77 the foot 80 engages the block and tilts it until its center of gravity is beyond the axisof the hinge 24 when the weight of the block will cause both the block andthe front por tion of the mold to descend into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3, when the block slides on to the belt 77 and the front portion of the material auton'iatically returns to normal position in time to be caught by the flanges 74-on the side members as the arms 7 O passbeyond the cam 71.

The time necessary for the block material to passbeyond the fluid state will vary with different materials and that gypsum will depend upon the presence or absenceot' a retarder as well understood in the art. The distancebetween the insertingjack and the withdrawing jack will be made sufficient to take care of average conditions and ifanerr traordinary period is required the adjustif it is desired to make four inch blocks, the

J same cores could be turned through ninety degree and a greater number used while leaving the necessary thickness of side walls.

-The use of rectangularv cores of uniform cross-section also has the advantage that in changing the width of a block it is possible to rearrange the cores and save material which would be lost in the usual practice with tapered cores of circular cross section. y a

In certain work it will be found convenient to charge the mold with material in a plastic condition, in which case the cores can be withdrawn immediately after they areinser ted. Two sets of cores moving in opposite directions have some advantages when a plastic charge is being formed.

1. The process of making coredblocks, which consists in taking an open topped mold, pouring block material'in a fluid con ditioninto the nioldthrough the open top thereof, then thrusting a core endwise into thefiuid material in the mold while the top ofthe mold isopen, andthen withdrawing the core after the material has ceased to be fluid and before the initial set thereof has taken place and while the material is confined Within the mold. i

2.- The process of making cored blocks which consists in taking an open topped mold, pouring block material in a fluid condition into the mold through the open top thereof, then thrusting a core endwise and upwardly through the bottom of the mold and into the fluid material therein whilethe top ofthe mold is open, and then withdrawing the core downwardly after the material has ceased to be fluid and before the initial set thereof has taken place and while the material is confined Within the mold.

8. The process of making cored blocks, which consists in taking an open topped mold, pouring block material in a fluid condition into the mold through the open top thereof, then thrusting a core endwise into the fluid material in the mold While the top of the mold is open and then withdrawing the core after the material has ceased to be fluid and before the initial set thereof has taken place and while the ma terial is confined within the mold, subsequently opening the mold, and then discharging the molded block.

4. The process of making cored blocks which consists in taking an open topped motion.

mold,pouringblock material in a fluid con dition into the mold through the open top thereof, then thrusting a core endwise and urnrardly through the bottom of the mold and into the .fluid material therein while the topofthe mold is open, and then withdraw- .ing the core downwardly after the material has ceased to be fluid and before the initial set thereof has taken place and while the material is confined within the mold, subsequently opening the moldyand then discharging the molded block.

5 In a machine for making blocks, the combination of apluralityof molds adapted to travel in a circuit, means for moving the molds intermittently, means for inserting and W1thdraw1ng cores while the molds are at rest, means for opening the molds while they are in motion, and means for discharging-the blocks therefrom.

6. In a machine for makingblocks, the combination of a" mold, a lubricator adjacent thereto, means for moving the mold,a core shdable through said lubricator into and out of said mold while the latter is at rest, and means for opening the mold while itis in 7. In ain'ia'chine for making blocks,the combination of a mold, a lubricator adjacent thereto, means for moving the mold, acore slidably mounted in said lubricator, and

means for moving said core into and'out of saidmold while the latter' is at rest and motion. i l l 8. Ina machine for'making blocks, the combination of a mold having a lubricator means for opening the mold while it is in i at the bottom thereof, means for moving the mold, a core slidably mounted in said 111- bricator, and means for inserting and withdrawing the core through said lubricator and means for opening the-mold while it is in motion.

9. In a machine for making cored blocks,

the combination of a plurality of molds adapted to move in a circuit, each moldhavmg a lubricator, a core slidably mounted in said lubricator while the mold is at lest, means for opening the molds While they are in motion, and means for supplying lubri-' cant to all of said lubricators.

10. In a machine for making cored blocks, the combination of a plurality of upright molds, means for moving said molds, a lubrica-tor at the bottom of each mold, a core slidably mounted in each lubricator While the molds are at rest, means for opening the molds while they are in motion, a tank for ing a pause betweenintermittent movements, means for Withdrawing the core from each mold during another pause, means for opening the molds during a period of movement, and means for discharging the blocks from the molds.

12. In a machine for making blocks, the combination of a pluralityof molds adapted to move in a circuit, a jack occupying a relatively fixed position in the circuit and adapted to insert a core in each mold, a second jack located at a relatively fixed point in a circuit and adapted to Withdrawthe core from each mold, and means for automatically starting and stopping the operation of the jacks.

13. In a machine for making blocks, the combination of a pluralityio t molds adapted to travel in a circuit, means for moving said molds about said circuit intermittently, a core moving ith each mold, a jack located at a relatively fixed point in the circuit and adapted to engageeach core and insertit in each mold, another jack located a t a differentpoint the circuit and adapted to engage each core and withdraw it from its mold, and means for automatically starting and stopping the operation of the jacks during the periods when the molds areat rest.

, 14. In a machine for making blocks, the combination of a plurality of molds adapted to travel in a circuit, means for moving the molds intermittently about the circuit, a core travelling -with efach mold, jacks located at relatively fixed points in the circuit, and

' means for automatically and simultaneously operating saidjacks to insert a core in one mold and withdraw a core from another mold.

15. In a machine for making blocks, the combination of a plurality of molds adapted to move in a circuit, a core moving with each mold, means for moving the cores and molds about the circuit, jacks for inserting the cores and Withdrawing them, and means controlled by the moving cores for operating said jacks. 4 i i 16. In a machine for making blocks, the combination of a plurality of molds adapted to move in a circuit,'a core adapted to move with each mold, core inserting means and core Withdrawing means located at adjacent Withdraw each core from each mold, and

means co trolled the movement er the frame for operating said jacks." 18. In a machine for making blocks, the combination of an'endless guidevvay,a of molds mounted to travel along the guide \vay, means'for charging fluid blocknnat'erial into the molds, means for in'sjerting cores into the fluid material in the molds subsequentto the charging thereof, means reta ns drawing the cores, means for opening the molds after Withdrawing the cores, means sef s.

for discharging blocks from the open molds,

and means for closing the molds;

,oALnB PAYNE.- 

